Op-ed: An upper-crust gaffe reveals true Romneys

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney still refuses to release his tax returns even amid serious allegations of his holding assets offshore in the Caribbean and United Kingdom, as well as having undisclosed Swiss bank accounts. No one has said yet that Romney has broken any laws, but it certainly appears he is utilizing very sophisticated banking opportunities available to a select few to shelter income from taxes. Not very presidential.

By not releasing his tax returns beyond two years, Romney only heightens suspicion and erodes support. I find interesting the stone silence from the “birthers,” tea party members and others who clamored for President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

Where is the grandstanding, multiple bankruptcy filing, wannabe politician Donald Trump? He’s the self-anointed leader of those proclaiming the current president as foreign national — as if the FBI were a group of amateurs incapable of conducting a proper background check on a man first elected to the U.S. Senate prior to becoming president.

Then, incredulously, “The Donald” attempted to stay in the headlines by insinuating that the birth certificate released by the State of Hawaii on behalf of the president was forged. Those who now bury their heads in the sand regarding Romney’s tax returns offer proof that the birth certificate uproar was personal, weakly disguised as politics.

I have no issue with those with great wealth. More power to them. In fact, I am impressed by the attitudes and actions of individuals like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates who certainly know their way around the world of the elite.

Mitt Romney, as well as Trump, has carefully manipulated the image of being a savvy businessman, and that is what I find irritating.

Romney, the venture capitalist, is skilled at getting other people to put up millions of dollars allowing him to buy corporations, increase their stock value, and then sell for a profit. Trump does the same thing, but has had to file bankruptcy so many times the secretary of state in New Jersey probably runs when she sees him walking into the building.

But candidate Romney has a more urgent matter on his plate after his wife’s July 19 appearance on “Good Morning America.” That’s when Ann Romney responded to a question regarding those tax returns by stating, “We’ve given all you people need to know.”

Now, I cannot be absolutely certain what Mrs. Romney was thinking when she let that response fly. But I’m comfortable discussing her remarks as someone who has been on the receiving end of a few “you people” classifications.

She spoke as an individual with upper-class social status and conviction, affirmed by decades of dismissing middle-class norms and values, unconcerned with her condescending and patronizing manner.

Those with the Romneys’ wealth enjoy lives different from the majority of people, often oblivious of daily challenges. This is not new, and was exemplified four years ago when U.S. Sen. John McCain could not remember how many houses he owned. Ask me that question and I’m sure to get it right the first time.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman reminds us what F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of America’s greatest writers, and no stranger to an elitist lifestyle, wrote in his short story “The Rich Boy.”

Fitzgerald wrote, “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They think deep in their hearts that they are better than we are.”

My life experience has taught me that stereotypes are usually dangerous; at the same time, Fitzgerald, who also wrote “The Great Gatsby,” was well versed on the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

I’ll just say that Ann Romney’s comment sent a shiver up my spine. Perhaps her statement was based on the belief her husband, Mitt Romney articulated while visiting Israel, where he insinuated that success as a capitalist is heavily influenced by one’s culture.

I guess so many of “you people” just don’t get it, and have not obtained the success desired due to your “cultural” deficiencies. It certainly appears that until the Romneys are certain those cultural issues have been rectified, voters can forget about ever gaining any further information regarding their tax returns.

Milton W. Hinton Jr. is director of equal opportunity for the Gloucester County government. He is past president of the Gloucester County Branch NAACP. His column states his personal views, not those of any organization or agency. Email: mwhinton@ml1.net.